Beyond the Shadows
by jkenobi
Summary: Shortly after the destruction of Starkiller base, the Resistance has achieved some peace. But there are more surprising revelations to come for both old heroes Leia and Luke as well as new ones Rey and Finn. Author's Note: This is my first time writing fan fic of any kind. It's meant to be an alternative storyline with one crucial change driving the story.
1. Chapter 1

General Leia Organa stood on the command bridge of her Resistance command ship. As she contemplated the next move in the seemingly endless struggle against the First Order, she grew more and more impatient as she waited for Poe Dameron to return from his mission. Finally, the door to the bridge slid open.

"You're late" Leia barked at Poe.

"Forgive me," Poe said. "I have some crucial information to give you."

"Did you find out anything more about the whereabouts of Supreme Leader Snoke or Ben?"

"Unfortunately no, but I ran into someone who wishes to speak to you." Poe replied.

"Who?" Leia asked.

"She has asked me not to say. She is waiting in your quarters." Poe answered.

Leia was slightly more exasperated to hear this, but did not show any anger toward her solider. She left the bridge and walked down a series of corridors to her quarters on the ship. She opened up the door and saw a very old woman sitting in a chair profile to where she was standing.

"Leia Organa," the woman said, not yet turned to look at her. "We have a lot to talk about."

"With whom am I speaking?" Leia asked.

At that moment, the woman, with a cane in her hand, began to stand up. She faced Leia. "I'm your mother" she said.

"That isn't possible," Leia retorted. "My mother is dead. She died when I was very young."

"That is where you are wrong. Just as you know Darth Vader is your father, I am your mother. My name is Padme Amidala."

At that moment, Leia gestured to Poe to leave them and close the door behind them.

"Tell me more," Leia continued. "How did you meet my father?"

"It all started one fateful day on my home planet of Naboo. An organization called the Trade Federation had blockaded the planet and thrown many of my people in prison or killed them. Unfortunately the Republic could not intervene, as the political tensions were very high at that time. Two Jedi knights came to negotiate with the federation but they were not given any chance to make a deal. The federation shortly after invaded Naboo, but the two Jedi knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn were able to rescue me and get me off the planet and to Coruscant. But our ship had been damaged and we had to land to repair the ship. I went into town with Qui-Gon and there met your father, who was a slave boy at the time. In order to get the parts we need, Anakin had to win a pod race. He did just that, and Qui-Gon knew he was meant to be a Jedi. Initially the Jedi council balked at Qui-Gon training Anakin. But during the battle of Naboo, Qui-Gon was slain and at that point Obi-Wan took Anakin as his apprentice. I didn't see him for another 10 years, but after an attempt on my life I was sent to Naboo for safety with Anakin and we well in love just before the outbreak of the clone wars. We married and toward the end of the war you and Luke were conceived. Unfortunately, Chancellor Palpatine had manipulated Anakin and convinced him to leave the Jedi and turn to the Sith. Obi-Wan visited me and told me that Anakin had betrayed the Jedi. I could not believe him, so I followed Anakin to a planet called Mustafar. Unbeknownst to me, Obi-Wan stowed away aboard my ship. He came out and after that Anakin tried to kill me. He then fought Obi-Wan, and his master beat him. He could not bring himself to kill Anakin, and just left him for dead and the Emperor found him and repaired his body. I gave birth to you and Luke on a small colony called Polis Massa in the outer rim. After that, I nearly died. But I didn't. After you and your brother were born, master Kenobi knew the Emperor would look for me and for you two. He knew that I was the only thing that could break Anakin's loyalty to him. So they faked a funeral for me on Naboo, and the Emperor's men reported to him that I was dead. But your adopted father, Bail Organa, left me a day's worth of oxygen and in the night dug me out of my casket and put me on a ship back to Polis Massa, where I have remained for over 50 years. However, it was not over then. The Emperor was never convinced that I was dead, so he sent multitudes of soldiers throughout the galaxy to find me. But they never did."

"Hold on a minute," Leia interjected. "If you could have gotten Vader to turn on the Emperor, why did not just reveal yourself to Vader?"

"The Emperor convinced him I was dead. He himself never looked for me. It was also too dangerous to try and contact him with the Emperor's spies all over the galaxy. I could not send transmissions to anyone, not even my family on Naboo, who also were convinced I was dead. But I knew it was necessary if I was to survive. But sometimes, fate finds you. The Emperor knew that the Rebel Alliance had become more powerful and more organized in various parts of the galaxy, and he feared the worst. He knew he could not cover the whole galaxy with his armies, so he had Vader oversee a secret project in the darkest region of space to crush the Rebels once and for all. He called it the Wraith Fleet. It was a set of unmanned starships that could travel as fast as any ship in the galaxy and pack the firepower of a Star Destroyer. The construction of the second Death Star was a diversion. The Emperor had no intent of ever finishing it. He just wanted something that would distract the Rebels long enough for the Wraith Fleet to be completed. But alas, fate did find me one day. There was a checkpoint at which Vader would fly his ship alone the rest of the way to where the Wraith Fleet was being constructed. But a few rebel fighters were performing a patrol in the area and engaged Vader. Your father was an excellent pilot and managed to escape, but his ship was damaged. He landed on Polis Massa, about a parsec away from the construction site. They repaired his ship, with some coercion required, but he felt my presence there. He looked around the site and found me in my quarters. As I looked upon the masked face that had terrorized the galaxy for years, I seemingly knew that was the end for me. Then he said, 'Padme, is that you?' I was in utter disbelief. Even though he was shell of what he once was, I then could see the man I loved all those years ago behind the black suit. I told him about Luke, but of course he already knew about Luke because he had fought him in Cloud City already. I told him about you, and he seemed quite angry at the fact that the Emperor had lied to him. He told me to stay there until he came back for me. But he never did. I later learned that Luke defeated him on the Death Star. Rumors circulated around the galaxy that the Emperor and Vader had been defeated, but the war raged on. It was too dangerous for me to come out of hiding. Finally the war reached a low point, and I have spent more than a decade trying to find you or your brother. Finally, after giving up hope, I went to Naboo to seemingly live out my last days with the little family I have left, telling them the whole story. That is when I met Poe, and he brought me here."

Leia was befuddled by this. She sat in silence for a moment and contemplated what she had just heard. Finally, Padme continued, "it was not an act of mercy for his son that compelled Vader to betray the emperor. It was the knowledge that he had been lied to that made him throw the Dark Lord of the Sith to his death. When was the last time you saw Luke?"

"Not for a very long time. He went into hiding years ago and we just completed the map to finding him. The only one to make the journey to find him is a young girl named Rey, one who is strong with the force" Leia answered. "Back to the Wraith Fleet, what happened to it?"

"Shortly after the Empire was defeated at the Battle of Endor, the facility was abandoned. Nobody knew why. Seeing it as a non-threat, the rulers of Polis Massa did nothing about it. Even though they themselves had no firepower, they could have contacted the alliance to do something about it but they didn't." Padme responded.

"Do you believe that the first order will try to reactivate the Wraith Fleet?" Leia asked.

"If Supreme Leader Snoke or any of his associates have discovered it, I imagine they will try to move quickly upon it." Padme replied.

"How close were they to completing it?" Leia asked.

"Nobody knows for sure," Padme answered. "It's also a miracle nobody came across the construction site all this time. But if the location of the site has been found again, it is only a matter of time before the First Order completes what the Empire began."

"You will be our most valuable resource in this fight," Leia answered. "Only you know the way to Polis Massa and has seen what has gone on all this time."

At once Leia summoned Poe Dameron and the highest leaders of Resistance intelligence to the command bridge.

"Thanks to the information provided by Poe's informant, we know of a very real threat. The First Order is gathering outside of Polis Massa, on a space station construction site for a project known as the Wraith Fleet. This was a secret Imperial project that was designed to give the Empire an unbreakable grip on the galaxy. But it was not completed before the fall of Emperor Palpitine, and then the project was abandoned. But there is reason to believe the First Order might be seeking to use this technology in their war against us. We will need a reconnaissance team to investigate the area. Poe, you are to lead this team. You will be joined by Orange squadron."

"They are the second best group of pilots we have," Poe answered. "Will it not spread us out too think and leave us vulnerable to an attack?"

"It is a risk to be sure," Leia answered. "But it is one we must take if this information is credible."

"It will be done. Just give us the coordinates." Poe responded.

Taking the coordinates, Poe briefed his squad and the orange squadron on their mission. Their orders were simple. Stakeout Polis Massa, make sure that nothing suspicious happened while they were there and find the construction site.

Captain Tarona, leader of the Orange squadron, pulled Poe aside.

"What if the First Order has already found this? If they have, we won't come back. How does Leia's mother know the First Order has been there?" He asked.

"We don't. But this could be the explanation for what Snoke said when he said that soon no army would be able to oppose him. If he has found this fleet and has a way to complete it, then we must destroy the facility." Poe responded.

"What if these ships are there but the First Order has not found them? Could we complete them and then use them to our advantage?" Tarona asked.

"One step at a time." Poe responded.

After that, the two men boarded their ships and prepared for the flight into the outer rim. The ships engines roared to life, and one by one they took off, formed up and began their journey. Leia watched from the bridge as the ten pilots, ten of the best in the entire Resistance, flew to their most perilous assignment yet. She sat with an exhaustive apprehension in her eyes.

"It was necessary to send the men you did," Admiral Ackbar said to console her. "Regardless of what they say, the information they will provide is most crucial."

"Assuming they live to provide any" Leia responded.


	2. Chapter 2

Within a short period of time, Poe and Tarona had led their men to Polis Massa. They were greeted by the Prime Minister of the colony as they got out of their ships. "Evening gentlemen, what brings you to our colony?"  
Poe took the lead and told him, "my name is Poe Dameron, I am a captain of the Resistance. These are my pilots."

Captain Tarona stepped up and said "I am Captain Tarona, an associate of Captain Dameron."

"My pleasure Captain" the Prime Minister said. "What brings you men out this far?"

Poe stepped up and said "we have come here to search the area for what we believe could be an old Imperial base."

"Strange that you say that. The empire has never operated in this part of the galaxy" the Prime Minister replied.

"Well, would it be okay if we searched the sector?" Poe asked.

"Search all you want. There is nothing you will find." the Prime Minister replied.

"Thank you. We will prepare for our flight at once." Poe replied. At that the pilots refueled and prepared to search. The Prime Minister retired to his quarters quickly.

* * *

After giving it some thought, Leia had an idea. There might be someone else who might be able to shed some light on the agenda of the First Order. Depending on his condition he might or might not be able to provide her with useful information. Leia made her way to the medical wing of her cruiser seeking out Finn. She asked the doctor how he was, and he reported that Finn had just recently become conscious again and could talk on a limited basis. She asked the doctor to leave so she could talk with Finn. Padme accompanied her.

"What happened to me?" Finn asked.

"You were wounded in a battle with Kylo Ren" Leia replied. In that moment a spell of fear glazed over Finn's eyes.

"What happened to Rey?" he asked. Then upon seeing Padme for the first time he looked alarmed and asked "who is she?" as he sat up.

"It's okay, she's my mother. Lie down Finn, you need to rest." Leia said as she gently laid her hands on the wounded young man. "As for Rey, she is on a mission to find Luke Skywalker. She completed the map. She left shortly after the destruction of Starkiller base and we have not seen her since." Leia finished.

"Please let me know when she returns" Finn pleaded.

"We will do so. Don't worry it'll be okay" Leia offered. "But for now we need you to shed some light on a matter only you might know about. Do you know anything about something called the Wraith Fleet?"

Finn looked down as he thought hard about those two words. After a tense moment, his face seemingly showing both his physical pain and agonizing over the thought.  
"It sounds familiar" Finn replied. "But nothing specific is coming back to me."

"It's okay, get your rest Finn-" Leia replied before being cut off by an officer on deck.

"Ships approaching General" the deck officer called out to Leia.

"Is Rey back?" Finn asked.

"No, Poe and his men have returned." the deck officer replied.

Leia walked out to the landing bay and greeted the pilots as they returned. Poe got off his X-Wing with a long and empty look on his face.

"There's nothing there" he told Leia as he walked past her and back to his quarters. Leia did not take kindly to that answer, so she followed him. She opened his door as he put his helmet away.

"What do you mean there's nothing there?" she asked.

Poe, exhausted by his travels, sat down and told her, "we searched all over the sector. There was not a trace of anything other than Polis Massa there. I don't know what else you want me to say?" He paused for a minute before asking, "I know you want this lady to be your long lost mother, but how we know she is? For all we know she could be a mole for the First Order…"

"Enough!" Leia yelled at him. "Apologies, but I can sense she is sincere. Why else would a lady that old want to see me and know me by name?"  
"It would be the perfect ruse" Poe said.

* * *

Poe walked in to see Finn. "How are you doing buddy?" he asked.

"Ever taken a lightsaber to the back?" Finn asked.

"Can't say that I have" Poe answered.

"I still haven't been able to walk" Finn said.

"But you will again?" Poe asked.

"Hopefully" he answered.

"So the Ren guy, who is he?" Poe asked.

"He's a kook. He knows the force better than anyone I know though. He's obviously incredibly powerful but has no regard for property and needs to learn some anger management. He was after Luke Skywalker for reasons he wouldn't tell us." Finn said.

"I guess what he did to you is worse than what he did to me" Poe said, all he did was probe my mind."

"If you want to see what it feels like to be cut with a lightsaber ask Rey when she gets back" Finn said jokingly.

Poe laughed. "That's one experience I don't need."

Rey brought the Falcon out of hyperspace close enough to the base. She was returning to the base with someone she knew the general would love to see. She sat the ship down in the hangar ready for the pandemonium that would ensue. To her surprise, when she exited the ship nobody really even gave her a second look. Even though it felt funny to not be stared at for once ever since she left Jakku, she told herself that maybe she now belonged somewhere. That was enough to comfort her. She kept on walking as she looked for Leia. She walked up the stairs onto the main corridor as she sought to find her commander. First, she ran into a distraught Poe, sitting on a bench looking disgusted and somewhat discouraged.

"What's bothering you captain?" she asked.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me" he responded.

"Try me" she said as she sat next to him.

"Okay, I was on a mission to Naboo and found an old lady claiming she needed to talk to Leia. After talking to Leia she said that she's Leia's mother. Later told me about this fleet of ships bring constructed in the outer rim that were the Empire's final project. So I take my men there to try to find this, we search the whole sector and find nothing. I don't even think a ship like the ones they described are even possible." Poe said.

"What kind of ships?" she asked.

"Self sustaining ships with the firepower of an Imperial Star Destroyer but with the speed of any single man fighter" Poe answered.

Rey put her hand on Poe's shoulder to comfort him. She leaned in and said, "the answers we find most elusive are often just in the shadow we have yet to see. In time the mystery will reveal itself." At that moment in time, Finn, who had just then been able to walk for the first time, peeked around the corner and saw this exchange. He quickly ducked behind that corner and was instantly suspicious.

* * *

After Rey had left the ship, Luke gathered his belongings and stepped off the Falcon. He had not seen his sister in over a decade, since her son had turned his back on him. To face her for the first time was most terrifying. After Rey and Poe had separated, Rey met up with Luke again and went to find Leia.

The young woman guided the much older gentleman through the corridors of the Resistance Flagship and eventually to the command bridge. Leia stood alone, and when she saw Rey for the first time in a long time her face lit up. She went to embrace the newfound hero. Luke kept his hood on for the first few moments until Leia finally told him, "Luke it's okay". He removed his hood and looked upon his sister with a mix of excitement and guilt. Leia embraced him and said, "you're my brother, I will always love you even though Ben might have fallen away. It's not your fault."

"I wish I could believe that" he replied. He was still uneasy because he sensed something in Leia's voice that bothered him. "What's going on?"

Leia turned to Rey and said, "Rey, I need you to leave for this. I must show him this alone. Your quarters are down the hall and to the right." Rey bid them adieu and left them be.

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Luke demanded.

"You aren't going to believe it." she responded. She took him out of the command bridge and to her quarters, where Padme was staying. She opened the door and revealed her to Luke. Instantly upon seeing her Luke could feel something odd about this elderly woman, and was taken back when she whispered his name, "Luke". In that moment, it was as if a light instantly went off in his head. "Mother" he replied, almost not believing the words that came out of his own mouth.

Padme walked slowly over to her son and touched his face gently. "You are the biggest hero in the galaxy" she whispered to him. Disgusted, Luke shook his head and said, "no, I'm the reason the First Order has become as strong as they have; I let Leia's son turn dark."

"There was light in your father's heart even until the end" she replied to him. "You just have to know how to find it."

"It didn't work for his father" Luke replied. He walked out of the room, still baffled and in shock of what he had just learned.

Leia pursued him into the hall. "Don't talk like that. I told Han to pursue Ben if he had the chance. There is still good in Ben, I know."

"You only believe because you must" Luke said. "He will do the same to you if given the opportunity."

"Han did what he had to do" Leia replied. "If you remain bitter you will not be able to help us fight the First Order."

"And what part of that does our mother have to play in all of this?" Luke asked.

"She gave us intel on a potential new First Order fleet" Leia responded. "The most devastating fleet ever constructed."

"You actually believe her?" Luke shot back.

"Yes-" Leia

"Why?" Luke

"Because she-" Leia

"Face it, our mother is long gone-" Luke

"Her intel-" Leia/p

"Wasn't even accurate!" Luke said. "You're only seeing what you want to see."

Right as he was saying this to Leia, a deck officer called out to her, "general, get to the command bridge now!"

Leia raced to the command bridge and saw a distress call from Captain Tarona. "We were attacked while on patrol, none of the other ships have made it out. I'm going to try to make the jump to hyperspace but these fighters are more powerful than any resistance ship and as fast as any fighter we have, I don't know if I can hold out much longer—" then the recording cut out.

Luke was stunned. He whispered, "it is true."


	3. Chapter 3

Leia was panicked. On one hand, if the ships were as powerful as her mother suggested, it would be very difficult to get close to them and likely send pilots to their deaths. But at the same time, if she made no effort to learn more about the ships then there was no way she would be able to defeat them. She turned to Luke and asked, "what would you do?"

"We need to go underground as fast as we can, if they ever find us then we will be destroyed." he replied. "Do you have any secret bases the First Order is not aware of?"

"There is one on the far side of the galaxy, but to get there will be a challenge because it will draw their attention." she replied.

"Then we better start now" Luke said.

Leia went out to the deck officer. "Order everyone to go to the transport ships. We make for the base on Hoth at once. Except for Poe, I have a special assignment for him."

"What are you going to do with him?" Luke asked.

"We're going to have him track the ships" she answered.

"It'll be too dangerous for him to get close to them" Luke responded.

"We have a prototype technology that could help us. Now we're going to see if it works."

Poe reached the deck quickly. "What is your assignment general?" he asked.

"Go find the tracking device that can work through hyperspace and withstand engine heat" she said. "We're going to fire it into the engine of those ships and track them.

"The firepower on those ships will not allow me to get close it." Poe replied.

"I know. I need you to be the distraction. Someone else will fire the tracker." she replied as she gave Luke a quick glance.

"Oh no, I haven't flown in years" Luke replied.

"Not you. Rey needs to do it." she said.

"She's never flown an X-wing. Will she be able to execute a maneuver like that in a ship she doesn't know without being detected?" Poe asked.

Leia looked at Poe with a very smug expression. "Luke blew up the Death Star during his first time in an X-wing. If he can do it Rey can do this." she replied.

"It's our only hope" Luke said. "I don't like it, but I'll have her do it."

Leia summoned Rey to the bridge. She briefed the two of them on the plan. Poe was going to be the diversion pilot meant to draw the fire of the ship while Rey found a way to get to the back of the ship and fire the tracker into the engine, where there was sure to be no chance of being detected by a scanner. Not knowing when the ship was going to jump back to hyperspace, they set out immediately.

* * *

Rey was nervous about the whole plan. She and Poe were approaching the ship from back, and she asked Poe, "are we going to be spotted?"

"Most assuredly" he replied.

"How can we get out in time? What's the backup plan?" she asked.

"There isn't one" he replied. "So you know what you need to do right? As soon as we get within range of being spotted I'm going to break off and draw the fire as best I can, there's a weak spot on their back sensors that Leia told us about, stay in that zone as long as you possibly can and pick up speed until you reach maximum speed and then fire the shot into the second engine. You can do this."

"I can do this" she replied.

"Alright it won't be long until we're in range, just follow my lead until I get into evasive maneuvers and we'll get this done. Have your deflectors on the front alone until you reach maximum speed and you'll have to turn them off and divert all power to your engines to make the shot." Poe said. Within moments of finishing those orders, the radar had spotted them and began to fire. "Away we go!" he exclaimed.

Poe barrel rolled away from Rey and crossed the ship's bow, drawing fire. Meanwhile, Rey started to pick up speed rapidly as she began draw closer and closer to the ship. Her trajectory took her from right to left behind the bridge of the ship and then she was going to dive sharply and then shoot the sensor into the center engine. She began to take fire and watched as her shields went down slowly. As she reached maximum speed, she angled her ship down, diverted all the power to her engines as the shields went down and in the blink of an eye was in range to fire. But as she pulled the trigger to fire, the guns jammed and the sensor could not deploy.

"What's going on Rey?" Poe asked as he continued to evade fire.

"It didn't fire" she told him.

"Try it again and quickly, I can't take much more of this!" Poe answered.

Rey started taking fire as well. She quickly put the shields back up and regained her bearings. How was she going to do this? Cross the ship left to right again and try the exact same thing she did before or was there another way? While she was thinking a lock on missile was fired at her.

"Rey, you've got a lock on coming after you!" Poe said over the intercom.

She had one deployment of flares in case she encountered something like this. While she thought about using it, she noticed the ship's guns quit firing at her. She thought to herself that she could use it to her advantage. After checking all her systems again, she got level with the engine and flew straight at it. She got in range, attempted the shot again and this time the shot went cleanly and attached to the inside of the target's engine. She pulled up quickly and then launched her flares, detonating the missile. She relayed to Poe, "the shot was successful."

"Great, let's get out of here!" Poe exclaimed. The two then flew off together to the back of the ship. But instead of following them, the ship just continued on its course.

"Are you surprised it didn't come after us?" Rey asked.

"Yes. But let's not worry about it," he answered. "I'll call Leia and tell her the job is done."

* * *

The two of them flew to Hoth, the specified rendezvous point. After landing, Poe was overcome with emotion. He ran to Rey as she left her ship and embraced her. "You were fantastic out there" he told her.

"Just because I had the help of the best pilot in the galaxy" she replied.

The Resistance was elated to see them back and they were in a jubilant and congratulatory mood. Except Finn. He stood there with bitterness in his heart. While he was happy at the mission's success, he felt an overwhelming sinking feeling inside.

Leia called Poe and Rey into the command room of the base. There they joined an entire group of Resistance soldiers.

"We have learned much from your successful mission. Apparently these ships are much stronger than we expected." she told them.

Lieutenant Connix stood up and told the room, "we analyzed the construction of the ships. They have an outer surface 10 feet thick of hardened steel. With the shields as strong as they are, there is no way any of our fighters would be able to cause any damage before being destroyed. We have also learned that these ships seem to follow one another in a predetermined path across the galaxy. Instead of orbiting the galaxy at various distances from the center, they seem to follow one another and gradually increase their distance from the center of the galaxy. They are solar powered, feeding off energy of various suns and in the outer rim in the empty regions of space they used conserved power to travel at light speed to get to the next region with planets. They follow this course by using a communications array to keep them all in line."

"So if we were to knock one out of sync, could it disrupt the rest of the ships?" Luke asked.

"Possibly" Leia answered. "However, how would we be able to knock out one of the ships?"

"The communications array is on the back of the ship beneath the 10 feet of steel. If there were a way we could get to it, we could knock out that particular comm system and potentially shut down the entire fleet." Connix answered. "But we don't have a weapon capable of penetrating through."

"I do" Luke answered. "If we could land on the ship we could use a lightsaber to cut through and knock out the comm system."

"Unfortunately the ships have a heat sensing system that will alert the First Order if any body heat is detected inside" Connix answered.

"We've landed on a Star Destroyer before" Leia said. "But could one person cut through in time before being found out?"

"No, we'd need two people" Luke answered.

"I'm in" Rey answered. "But who would go with me?"

"I suppose I will" Luke answered.

"No" Leia responded. "You need to stay, this mission is incredibly dangerous and we cannot risk losing both of our Jedi."

"There's nobody else who can use this weapon" Luke replied.

"I can" a voice called from the distance.

Finn walked into the room.

"It's true, he has used one before" Rey said.

"Finn, what you're doing is brave but you just now can walk again" Leia replied.

"If I can walk I can fight" he replied. "Sign me up."

Luke looked at Finn for a moment, pulled out his lightsaber and said, "here's mine, don't lose it."

At Leia's insistence, Luke talked to Padme even though he wanted to be out with Rey where the action was. "Mother," Luke began, "tell me everything." Padme told Luke what she had told Luke about her life, from being the Queen of Naboo to falling for Anakin, being a Senator, nearly being killed by Anakin to her fake death and years of isolation. Luke hung on every word.


	4. Chapter 4

Chewie piloted the Falcon with Rey while Finn and a spare gunner mounted the turrets. There had been a temporary airlock installed in order to allow Rey and Finn to get outside once they landed on the Wraith Star Destroyer. Poe led a squadron of fighters nearby ready to engage in case the First Order were to attack. They knew exactly where the blind spot on which to land was, Chewie had done it before. It would be a 20 foot climb up the hull of the ship to reach the point at which Rey and Finn could get to the communications array. After some evasive maneuvers to get to the ship, it touched down. Finn climbed out of his gunner seat and Rey from the cockpit to the airlock.

"You ready for this?" Rey asked.

"What is it with you and Poe?" he asked back.

"What are you talking about?" she replied.

"I've seen you and him together" Finn began. "Is there anything between you two?"

"No, why would you believe such a thing?" she started out

"Because-" Finn started

"You know what, don't answer that" Rey replied. "There are bigger things happening right now than you and me."

"I'm sorry" Finn replied. Rey took a second and looked at a bracelet she had on her left wrist. She had made it in her spare time out of a tree branch while training with Luke. Finn looked over and noticed the writing on it. "What does it say?" he asked.

"The force gives us strength" she replied. "Now put your gear on and let's go."

The two of them put on suits, oxygen masks and special sticky gloves and boots that would allow them to climb up the outside of the ship.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Let's do this" Finn replied.

They entered the airlock, sealed it off and opened the ramp of the Falcon. They hooked themselves up to the climber cables that had been installed and they began their climb up. For Rey, it was easy. She had become an expert climber while living on Jakku but for Finn it was a little more difficult. Rey got to the point first, but after an additional half minute Finn caught up.

"It's amazing to see space like this" Finn said.

"We've all seen space before" Rey replied. "Now let's do this!"

They both pulled out their lightsabers, carefully cut a hole in the hull that was five feet in diameter so that they could crawl through it. She then used the force to move the cut piece of steel out of the ship and tossed it into space.

"So that's how the force works" Finn said.

"Shut up and lets keep going" Rey said back. But like Connix had told them, the alarm system on the ship went off, alerting the First Order to their presence.

The next circle to cut through was a bit more difficult because they were now inside the ship. After making the circle, they cut it in half down the middle and then leaned toward the right side while Rey pulled the left side out and then used the force to toss it into space. Then they moved to the left and did the same thing with the right side of the prior circle.

"Halfway done" Rey said.

"They're here" Finn said. "We need to hurry." Finn was of course talking about the First Order, who had dispatched ships. They were intercepted by Poe and a large space battle ensued.

Rey and Finn worked through the next two circles. After the last one was gone, Finn crawled back down the tunnel and back down to the Falcon. Meanwhile Rey planted the bomb and set it for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, the Falcon was taking fire from the First Order TIE fighters. The lone gunman did what he could and Poe got his fighters into a defensive position around the Falcon the best he could without taking fire from the Star Destroyer, but it was too late. The Falcon took a hit and Rey's cable had been dislodged. She had started back out of the tunnel but was knocked back to where she started. She crawled back out as quickly as possible.

Rey got back out of the tunnel with 23 seconds left to go when she started hearing an alarm. She was out of oxygen. Her tank had been punctured when she fell back. Meanwhile, the Falcon had detached from the Star Destroyer in order to make it away in time before the bomb went off.

Finn stood at the base of the Falcons ramp and watched as Rey went limp and fell out of the tunnel into space. He then jumped towards where he body was falling and caught Rey's arms right as he reached the end of his cable. The Falcon leveled out and he was well below the bottom of the ship. He held Rey tight to his body and then hit the retract button on his cable belt. He got back in right as the Falcon was closing the ramp and proceeded to fly away. "All units, let's go!" Poe said to his pilots on the intercom.

Finn got back in through the airlock and carried an unconscious Rey to the medical bay. He hooked her up to the oxygen tank as the Falcon made the jump to hyperspace.

* * *

Rey still had not regained consciousness on the Falcon. Upon landing, Finn got her to the medical facility on Hoth as quickly as possible. It did not take long for Rey to regain consciousness. While she was in care, Finn saw Poe by the medical bay.

"What brings you here?" Finn asked.

"Same reason you're here, I just want to be sure she's okay" Poe said. "Is there something wrong Finn?"

"No" he started out. "I just wanted to be sure there was nothing going on between you and her."

Poe looked at him with an expression of bewilderment. "Nah man, she's a great pilot and one heck of a soldier but I know she's a Jedi now, she's beyond what I can do. She's going to be gone with Luke all the time, I can't get involved in a situation like that. But just because I can't doesn't mean you can't. You have more of a history with her than I ever will. That has to count for something. I'm not going to let her get between you and I. We're pals and nothing will change that. She's going to be okay, follow your heart Finn. Don't let her leave without telling her how you feel. I don't think many people would have jumped off a ship like that for someone. But you did. That alone should tell you something."

With the completion of the mission, the Resistance gathered to celebrate their victory. General Leia stood out in front of the troops, flanked by Poe.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate another victory for the Resistance. With the comms down the shields went down and we were able to make bomber runs and destroy the fleet. It is because of all the brave soldiers that I can stand here in front of you all today, and now may I present the squad leader, Poe Dameron."

Poe stepped up to address the crowd. "There were many out there who willingly risked their lives, and some who gave them in order to complete this mission. While this is a significant victory, we must remember the war is not over. But for now, may I present a friend of mine, a guy who knows The First Order like no other, please welcome Finn!"

Finn was standing at the back end of the podium, flanked by Rey to the left of the podium. Finn stepped up and Poe shook his hand as he stepped away from the podium.

Finn was not prepared for this moment. He started by saying, "well, as many of you know, I am a former stormtrooper, so I can vouch for what Poe says. Anyway, I came to the Resistance because the First Order seeks to destroy freedom for everyone across the galaxy. We must continue the fight to maintain freedom for not only the man next to you, but for those on planets spread far and wide, they need us. You fight for more than just yourselves, you fight for all the free people in the galaxy!"

Finn got rousing applause as he stepped away from the podium and back next to Rey. Leia stepped up once again, but for the moment she let the applause continue. Finn let his arms hang by his side, and suddenly he felt a tugging on his right hand. Rey slowly worked her fingers in between his. Finn slowly turned his head and looked at her, saying "oh so you're taking my hand now?"

"Come on, we didn't even know each other's names on Jakku" she replied.

Eventually the applause died down. Leia gave a brief speech wrapping up the event and dismissed the troops. She turned away from the podium and saw Luke standing there with a look on his face that let her know something had happened.

The Resistance gathered once again to remember the life of Padme. Luke, who had just recently come to grips with who she really was, gave the eulogy. "The most important attribute of any soldier is courage. I cannot think of someone who showed more courage in all her circumstances than my mother did. She fought to save her planet when she was queen of Naboo, she led the fight against The Trade Federation that kept them from taking over her planet, fought to keep the Old Republic from going to war. She gave life to Leia and I with all her hopes and dreams crushed and then gave all she had to find us even if it was the last thing she did. Everyone has a role, and we must all have this same courage if we are going to defeat the First Order. With her last deed, she allowed us to see a threat from beyond the shadows and we brought it down. May she rest in peace."

* * *

After the funeral, Luke had to leave to go on his next mission with Rey. The resistance gave him and Rey supplies, and back in the hangar they were loading up the ship, alone. Suddenly, Finn walked into the hangar, hoping to see Rey one more time. From 20 feet away, he stood and watched as she loaded crates. It took Rey a moment before she noticed him. She looked back down and Finn turned around to walk away. Rey looked quickly at Luke who motioned his hand to her to go to him. Rey put down the crate she had in her hand and walked to Finn, who was slowly walking away. Finn turned around right as she caught up with him.

"What is it, Finn?" she asked as she touched his shoulder and turned him around.

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

"Luke never tells me where we go before we go there" she responded.

"I see…uh…well, wherever you go be safe" Finn replied.

"That's all you came here to say?" Rey asked.

"No," Finn responded, with more evident hesitation in his voice. "I just want you to know I'll miss you while you're gone."

"Come on Finn, what is it really?" she asked.

"After the mission, the funeral and all I just…needed to say something if I were to never see you again," Finn swallowed hard and said "I'd want you to know I love you."

Rey stood there for a moment stunned. Her face instantly went blank and she was speechless.

"You okay?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," she responded. "It's just, nobody has ever said that to me before." She reached out and embraced Finn. She stood there in his arms and quickly tried to think of the right thing to say. "Finn," she started out, "I love you too, but we are two soldiers on two different fronts of a war. We have to put our duty first. Once the war is over and we have peace we can be together. I promise you there will never be anyone else for me, but until that day we must fulfill our obligations to the resistance and to the galaxy. I'll miss you too, but for now I must go." she said as she walked back to the Falcon. Finn followed her.

"Rey," Finn started, "I just want something I can remember you by." At that moment Rey turned around and pressed her lips to Finn's and they both shared their first kiss.

"Memorable enough?" she asked him.

"I don't think I'll ever forget" Finn said.

"May the force be with you Finn" Rey said as she boarded the Falcon.

Finn walked away and smiled. After a moment, he noticed something in his jacket pocket. He reached in and found a wooden carved bracelet. He took a look at the inscription and read aloud, "the force gives us strength." He turned and looked at the Falcon cockpit and said, "it sure does" with a tone of admiration for the clever and discreet exchange she had pulled off while kissing him.

Rey reached the cockpit of the Falcon and saw Luke already seated, only this time he was in the pilot's seat. "Where are we headed?" she asked, not realizing he was in the pilot's seat.

"You'll see" Luke said.

"Did you put the coordinates in the nav computer?" she asked.

"No, I'll keep in on manual control for a while," Luke said. "I did blow up a Death Star once you know."

Rey was surprised. "You were a rebel pilot?" She asked.

"You still have much to learn Rey" Luke said as he powered up the ship's engines and left the hangar to their next destination.


End file.
